Chapter 61 Chapter 61: Sansa

The mirrors behind the brackets reflected bright torches, filling the queen's ballroom with silvery light, but there were still shadows in the hall.Sansa could see it in Ser Ilyn Payne's eyes - he was stuck like a rock at the back door, neither eating nor drinking - and heard it in Lord Gales' coughing pain and Osney Kettleblack's whispers .Osney slips in from time to time to report news to Cersei. Sansa had just finished her soup the first time he came in through the back door.She caught a glimpse of him saying something to his brother Osfry before he ascended the dais and knelt beside the queen's high seat.He smelled like horses, with four long, scabbed scratches on his face, and his hair hung loose over his neck, covering his eyes.Even though his voice was soft, Sansa couldn't help listening. "Our men have entangled the enemy fleet, and some archers have come ashore, but the hounds have driven them all to pieces. Your brother, Your Majesty, is raising his chains, and I hear his signal. Han wants to take the opportunity to rob his house, Lord Bywater has sent gold cloaked guards to deal with it. The Great Sept of Baelor is full of people, and everyone is praying."

"Where's my son?" "His Majesty the King has also been to the Cathedral to receive the blessing of the Archbishop. Now he is on the city wall with the Prime Minister to appease the defenders and boost morale." Cersei asks the page for another glass of wine.This is Arbor Island's finest golden wine, fruity and mellow.The Queen Mother drank a lot, and the more she drank, the more beautiful she became.Her cheeks were flushed, and there was a bright, wild look in her eyes looking down the hall.Eyes burning like wildfire, Sansa thought. The musicians were playing, the jugglers were juggling, Moonboy was swinging about the hall on stilts, mocking everyone, and Sir Dontos was chasing the young maid on his broom horse.The guests laughed loudly, but insincerely, as if they could turn into sobs at any moment.They are here, but their minds and hearts are on the walls.

The broth was followed by a salad of apples, nuts and raisins.Any other time, it's a delicacy, but tonight it's all served with a spice called dread.Sansa was far from alone in the hall with no appetite.Lord Gales coughed more than he ate, Norris Stokeworth sat hunched and shivering, and the bride of one of Ser Lancel's knights wept uncontrollably.The Queen ordered Maester Franken to give her a sleeping wine and put her to bed. "Tears," she said to Sansa disdainfully, as the woman was led out of the hall, "is a woman's weapon, as my lord mother used to say. A sword is a man's. That says it all, doesn't it?"

"But a man must be brave," Sansa said, "to ride out to the sword and the axe, and everyone will come to kill you..." "Jaime once said to me that he could feel his life only in the field and in his bed. She raised her wine glass and took a big sip without touching the salad in front of her. "I'd rather face a million swords than sit here helplessly, pretending to be happy with these frightened hens." "Your Majesty, you invited them here." "Of course, as the queen mother, you have to do this kind of thing. If you marry Joffrey in the future, you will understand this truth sooner or later. Learn it now." The queen mother looked at the wife who was sitting on the bench. , daughters and mothers. "The hens themselves are worthless, but the roosters with them are the key now, and some of them will survive the fight, so I must provide protection for their women. If my evil dwarf brother gets away with it , they would go back to their husbands and fathers and spread stories about how brave I was, how strong I was, how I inspired them. How steadfast I was, and never had a moment of doubt."

"Shall the castle fall?" "That's what you want, don't you?" Cersei continued without waiting for her to deny, "If I don't get betrayed by the guards, I may hold out here for a while, waiting for Lord Stannis to come, so I can go up to the city to ask him to surrender, and avoid Worst-case scenario. But if Maegor's Tower falls before he arrives, I bet you'll all have to endure a little rape. Cruelty, rape, and torture are beyond anyone's control at the very moment." Sansa was terrified. "These are women! Unarmed and noble-born."

"Birth offers protection," Cersei admitted, "but not as much as you might think. While they're each worth a hefty ransom, after a frantic battle soldiers are often more interested in flesh and blood than money .Actually, they should be thankful that gold shields are better than nothing. Those women on the street will be treated more roughly, and so will our maids. Pretty girls like Miss Tanda's maids will be played with All night. By the way, my dear, don't think that the old and ugly or inherently ugly will be let go. Down a few glasses of strong wine, the blind washerwoman and the stinking pigsty girl are just like you Peugeot."

"I?" "Don't bluff like a mouse, Sansa. You're already a woman, understand? You're still my eldest son's fiancée." The queen took a sip of her wine. "If it were someone else in the city, I could still try to coax him, but this is Stannis Baratheon, I might as well coax his horse!" She noticed Sansa's expression and chuckled softly. "Did I frighten you, Miss dear?" She leaned closer. "You little fool, tears are not a woman's only weapon. There is one between your legs. It is best to learn to use it. Once you learn it, there will be a man who will take the initiative to use the sword for you. Both swords are free."

Sansa didn't know how to answer when the two Kettleblacks walked into the hall again.The two brothers, like Sir Osmond, were very popular in the castle. They were always smiling and witty.Ser Osmond now took Sandor Clegane's place beside Joffrey, and the washerwomen at the well talked, saying he was as strong as the Hound, but younger and quicker.If so, why had she never heard the name Kettleblack before Ser Osmond became the Kingsguard? Osney knelt beside the Queen Mother with a big smile on his face, "The fire boats are dispatched, Your Majesty Queen Mother, the entire Blackwater River is bathed in wildfire. A hundred ships are on fire, maybe more than that."

"Where's my son?" "He's at the Mudgate, with the Prime Minister and the Kingsguard. Your Majesty, he's just talked to the soldiers on the tower and taught them a little trick with the crossbow. It's true. Everyone thinks he's a brave boy. .” "He's going to be a boy alive." Cersei turned to her brother Osfry, who was taller and more serious, with a drooping little black beard. "And you?" Osfry, wearing a steel half-helm over his long black hair, looked somber. "Your Majesty," he said calmly, "the boys have caught a groom and two maids who have stolen three king's horses. Ma, trying to slip out of the side door."

"The first traitors of the night," said the queen, "but not the last. Ser Ilyn will dispose of them, and put their heads on guns and hang them outside the stables as a warning." She turned to Sansa when they were gone. "If you want to sit next to my son, this is another lesson. If you are soft-hearted at a time like tonight, traitors will spring up like mushrooms after the rain. The only way to keep your subjects loyal is to ensure that they fear you more defeat the enemy." "I will remember, Your Majesty," Sansa said.She had only heard that to keep people loyal, love was more reliable than fear.I'm going to be queen and make them love me.

The salad was followed by crab claw pie, followed by lamb roast with leeks and carrots in a hollow loaf pan.Norris ate so fast that she spat it out, spilling over herself and her sister.Lord Gales coughed and drank, drank and coughed, and finally fell asleep with his face on his dinner plate and his hands in a puddle of wine.The Queen Mother glared at him in disgust. "The gods must be crazy to let man's organs grow on a man like him! I must be crazy to save him." Osfry Kettleblack came back suddenly, his red robe fluttering. "Your Majesty, many people gathered in the square outside the gate and asked to take refuge in the castle. They are not mobs, but rich merchants and artisans." "Tell them to go home," said Her Majesty, "and if they don't go, shoot a few with a crossbow. No attack is allowed, and the door must not be opened under any circumstances." "Yes." He bowed and left. The queen became sullen and annoyed. "I wish I could go to war with a sword!" Her voice began to muffle. "When I was young, Jaime and I looked so much alike that even my lord father couldn't tell them apart. Sometimes we would play tricks on each other just to play tricks." Changing clothes and pretending to be each other all day. But when Jaime got his first sword, I didn't have a share. 'What about me?' I remember asking myself. We're so alike, I'll never understand why Very different treatment. Jaime practiced sword, spear and mace, but I learned to smile, sing and please. He became the heir of Casterly Rock, and I was sold to a stranger like a horse. The new master wanted Ride as you please, fight as you like, and throw me aside if you get a new mare. Jaime draws a lottery of glory and strength, and I draw fertility and menstruation." "But you are Queen of the Seven Kingdoms," said Sansa. "In front of the sword, the Queen Mother is just a woman." Cersei drank it down, and the page hurried over to lick it, but she turned the glass over and shook her head. "Enough is enough, I have to stay awake tonight." The last course was goat cheese with baked apples, and the aroma of cinnamon filled the hall.Osney Kettleblack hurried in again and knelt between them. "Your Grace," he murmured, "Stannis's army landed in the Tournament Grounds, and more enemies were crossing. The Mudgate was attacked, and they brought a battering ram to the King's Gate. The Imps have led their troops attack." "Well, yes, this trick will scare them to death," the queen mother said indifferently, "He didn't take Xiao Qiao?" "No, Your Majesty, the king is under the protection of my brother, who is supervising the 'Three Prostitutes of King's Landing' throwing the 'Antler People' into the river." "Is the Mud Gate under attack? Crazy, tell Sir Osmond, this is too dangerous, evacuate immediately, and escort the king back to the city!" ' "The little devil ordered—" "My word counts." Cersei narrowed her eyes. "Your brother will either follow suit, or lead a commando to attack, and you will go too." After the food was cleared away, all the guests asked to go to the sept to pray, and Cersei kindly granted them all.Countess Tanda and her daughters were among them.A singer was brought in to play the harp for those who remained, and sweet music filled the hall.He sang of Jonquil and Florian, of Prince Aemon the Dragonrider and his love for brother and sister, of Nymeria's crossing of ships.Although the ballad was beautiful, it was full of sadness, which made the women present couldn't help crying, and Sansa's eyes gradually became moist. "Very well, dear," said the queen, leaning closer again. "Take time to practice crying. It will come in handy. King Stannis is coming soon." Sansa moved uneasily. "His Majesty?" "Oh, forgive me, and spare me this bumbling set of tricks. If the situation is not desperate, it will not be the turn of the dwarf. Now, you take off your mask too, and I am sorry for your little treason in the godswood. But it’s pretty clear.” "Godswood?" Don't look at Ser Dontos, don't look, don't look, Sansa told herself, she doesn't know, no one knows, Dontos promised me that my Florian would not disappoint me. "I didn't commit treason, I just went to pray." "Hmph, for Stannis, or for your brother? That's enough, what good is there for you to go to your father's god? It's nothing more than praying for our failure. If this is not treason, what is it?" "I pray for Joffrey," she insisted nervously. "Why? For his love for you?" The queen took a jug of sweet plum wine from a passing maid and filled Sansa's glass. "Drink," she ordered coldly, "may it give you the courage to face the reality that is to come." Sansa lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip.The wine was cloyingly sweet and very strong. "You can do better," Cersei said, "do it, Sansa, it's the queen's order." Sansa almost choked, but she managed to finish a glass, and the sticky sweet wine drank, and her head started to shake. dizzy. "Again?" Cersei asked. "I can't. Please." The queen mother was a little displeased, "Well...I tell you, I lied when you asked Ser Ilyn earlier. Do you want to be honest, Sansa? Do you want to know the real reason why I asked him to come?" She didn't dare to answer, but it didn't matter, the queen mother ignored her at all, and raised her hand to greet her.Sansa hadn't seen Ser Ilyn come back, but he had appeared just then, striding out of the shadows behind the dais, as quiet as a cat, sheathing ice in his hand.I remember that my father would go to the godswood to wash the sword clean after every time he took someone's life, but Ser Ilyn was not that particular. The rippling Valyrian steel sword was stained with congealed blood, and the red color faded to brown . "Tell Miss Sansa why I let you stay here," Cersei ordered. Ser Ilyn opened his mouth and let out a series of choked clucks, his pockmarked face expressionless. "He said he came for us," said the queen. "Stannis may take the capital and claim the throne, but I will not accept his trial. I will not let him capture us." "us?" "That's right. So I advise you to change your prayers, Sansa, and pray for another ending. I assure you, if the Lannister family falls, the Stark family will not be happy either." She stretched out her hand and gently Sansa's hair brushed back from her neck.